Auxiliary seat for barber chairs and the like



May ll, 1954 v. P. MOHR 2,678,086

AUXILIARY SEAT FOR BARBER CHAIRS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug; 28, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. V e r n o n P. M o h r BY Mv- MLM ATTORNEYS V. P. MOHR May 11, 1954 AUXILIARY SEAT F'OR BARBER CHAIRS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1948 Fig. 8

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INVENToR; Veron P. Mohr @mf/1M ff@ VW ATTRNEYS Patented May 11, 1954 OFFICE AUXILIARY SEAT FOR BARBER CHAIRS AND THE LIKE Vernon P. Mohr, Boulder, Colo.

Application August 28, 1948, Serial No. 46,655

Claims. 1

This invention relates to auxiliary seats for barber chairs and the like.

Although the usual barber chair enables the barber to position the customer at a convenient height for tonsorial work, the barber is usually on his feet all day long, with the result that at the end or the day the barber is more tired than the exertions in producing the desired tonsorial eiects should necessitate. Also, particularly toward the end of the day, as the barber becomes tired due to standing all the time, his adeptness and coordination may decrease to the extent that a less satisfactory operation is performed, or a considerably longer time is taken than would otherwise be necessary. It is, therefore, desirable for many barbers to `be able to be supported at least partially ofi` their feet, during at least a sufficient amount of the time to reduce weariness considerably. A stool orseat, separate from the barber chair, is unsatisfactory because the barber moves around the chair during his work, and a stool is often in the way. Also, previous auxiliary seats for barber chairs, which are attached to the chairs and may be swung about to dierent positions, have had many disadvantages. Some such auxiliary seats have been supported on the floor by rollers or the like, but these are cumbersome and unwieldy, and involve considerable time and effort for movement to a different position. Others have been clamped to the base of the barber chair, but these have tended to cause grease or oil to drip on the floor, could be removed or adjusted with diiiiculty, and also have, in general, prevented the chair from being lowered to a lowermost position.

Among the objects oi the present invention are to provide a novel auxiliary seat for barber chairs and the like, which is readily moved to different positions; to provide such a seat which is adjustable to different heights; to provide such a seat which may be placed in either an on-center or oir-center position with ease; to provide such a seat which provides maximum clearance for movement of the barber chair to its lowest position; to provide such a seat which does not tend to drip oil or grease onto the floor; to provide such a seat which may be readily removed from the chair, if desired, and also readily replaced; and to provide such an auxiliary seat which is relatively simple in construction and easy to manufacture.

Other objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which;

Fig. l is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of a barber chair provided with an auxiliary seat constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a clamp and bearing assembly forming a portion of the auxiliary seat of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section through the bearing, taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, in partial section, showing a novel post construction, at the lower end of a supporting column;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, of a socket at the upper end of the column;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a cushion or seat member, partly broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the cushion or seat, illustrating particularly the change between oncenter and off-center positioning of the seat;

Fig. 8` is an elevation of an alternative seat member, partly broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of an additional alternative seat member, partly broken away to show interior construction; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevation, similar to Fig. 9, with the seat in a different position.

As in Fig. 1, an auxiliary seat constructed in accordance with this invention may be mounted on a barber chair C, provided with the usual piston 9 and base l0 and adapted to be moved upwardly and downwardly hydraulically, and also rotated about the base I0, the elevation being controlled through a handle H. The auxiliary seat of this invention includes a split clamp L, adapted to be attached to the base iD, and a pivotal supporting column O, which extends outwardly beyond the connes of the chair C, continuing upwardly to a cushion member or seat S. The cushion or seat S is mounted on the upper end of the column O, being adjustable in height thereon, and also adjustable from an on-center to an offcenter position. In the off-center position of the seat S, the variation in distance between the seat S and the chair C is accommodated, when the auxiliary seat is swung from one side to the other. The pivot point of column G is preferably at the rear of the chair C in normal position (the chair C being shown in Fig. 1 as swung through from such normal position., for clarity of illustration), and theauxiliary seat S may be .swung through approximately 270, thus permitting the barber to rest on the seat S at substantially any position of the chair C. However, when the seat S is swung to left or right, it will tend to come closer to the chair. Thus, the barber often desires to be able to adjust the lateral position of the seat S easily, which is provided by an off-center position of the seat S, so that it may be swung closer to or farther away from the chair, at the option of theV barber.

The clamp L, as in Fig. 2, may comprise semicircular halves I2 and I3, provided with flanges I4 for attachment by bolts I5 to the base I6, the clamp halves also preferably being lined with strips I on the inside, formed of rubber, gasket material or the like, both to increase the frictional hold on the base II! and also to prevent damage thereto, as when the base I is provided with a porcelain surface. The strips IE may be conveniently attached to the halves I2 and I3 of clamp L by any suitable cement. The cla-mp half I2 is also provided with a bearing II, adapted to receive a post I8 of column O, post I3 being shown also Vin Fig. 4. The post I8 is mounted at the. inner end' of a horizontal section E9 of column O, as shown also in Fig. l.

The bearing Il' may be formed integrally with, or welded to, the half I2 of the clamp L, and is provided with a sleeve 23 of suitable bearingk material, as in Fig. 3. The lower end of the bearing is closed, as by a cup 2'I, which prevents grease and oil from dripping onto the floor. However, when the post I3 is inserted in a bearing having a Vclosed lower end, it is possible, due to the t between the post t3 and the bearing sleeve 2%., by inserting the post too quickly, to Vsometimes produce sufficient air pressure Within the bearing to blow the cup 2l out'of the end of the bearing. 'To relieve such airV pressure, and also to lubricate the bearing more effectively, the sleeve 2z? is provided about its inner periphery with a plurality of grooves 22, which preferably extend spirally.

The base I!) of many barber chairs is constructed as shown in Fig. 1, being cylindrical at the upper end and tapering outwardly below, and it is normally desirable to attach the clamp L tothe cylindrical upper section, for more effective clamping, and also for stability of the auX- iliary seat. However, when the clamp L is attached to the base IG adjacent the top, there is a tendency for the auxiliary seat to prevent the full downward movement of the chair C, but this dii'liculty is avoided in the present invention by mountingY the post |23 so as to extend at right angles to the inner end of the horizontal section I of the supporting column O, which is preferably tubular, although it may have any desired cross-sectional shape.V As in Fig. 4, the post i8 may be inserted and attached, as by Welding, in a head 2li of a bar 25 which is machined to extend into the tubular end of horizontal section I9, bar 25 being attached thereto in a suitable manner, as by pins 2G. The head 24 also clears the bead or trim 2 of base Il), the top ofhead 24 preferably being about level with the top or bead 2. Post-i8 may be attached by pins to Y.head 2li, and the head 2li may be welded to the column O. Or, if desired, the head 24, bar 25 and post i3 may be formed integrally, as in a' erably/*formed of tubular material, and this may Y be bent to shape to provide horizontal section I9, as well as an outer vertical section 28, head 24 with post I8 being attached to the inner end of section I9 and a threaded socket or sleeve 29 attached to the upper end of vertical section 28, as in Fig. 5. The sleeve 29 may be inserted in the upper end of section 28 and Welded or otherwise attached thereto and supported, as by resting against a shoulder 30 formed in section 2B. If desired, the upper end of the tubular `column may be thickened, as by forging, and the threads formed directly therein. The entire column O may be cadmium or nickel plated, or otherwise suitably treated when made of steel, to produce a high polish and attractive appearance, as Well as resistance to rust, stain and discoloration.V Or, the column O may be made'of stainless steel and polished electrolytically or mechanically to producea highly attractive surface finish.

The cushion member or seat S, normally circular, is mounted on the upper end of vertical section 28 of the supporting column O in a suit-v able manner, as by a threaded post 32, adapted to be received in the correspondingly threaded socket or sleeve 29. The upper end of post 32 may be welded or otherwise suitably attached to a horizontal plate 33, the seat S and plate '33 having cooperating attachments, such as bolts 31S extending from the underside of seat S and provided with wing nuts 35. A suitable construction of the seat S includes a generally cylindrical body 36 having an outer, depending rim 3'! and a circular recess in the top, into the latter of which is iitted a block 38, as of Wood,

adapted to clamp the peripheral edges of a cover 39, as of leather, plastic or the like. Beneath the cover is disposed cushioning material 4E), such as cotton padding, hair, felt, foam rubber or other suitable material. The bolts 34 may extend through the block 33 and then through the body 36, so as to clamp the cushion securely.

rl'he plate as in Fig. 7, is preferably rhonibic in shape, and provided at each of the corners thereof with a hole d2, of a size to permit the passage of bolts 3ft? therethrough, As will be evident, the four holes i2 (through three of which bolts Lili pass), form two equilateral triangles,

and the post '32 is attached to the plate 33 at theer center of one of these triangles, being oir-center with respect to the other triangle. The bolts are disposed at each apex of a similar equilateral triangle, so that, asin the full position of plate 35'3- in Fig. 7, when the bolts 35, extend through the holes i2 of the oft-center triangle, the post will be correspondingly oil center with. respect to the seat S. Howeven as in the dotdash position of plate '2" in Fig. 7, when the bolts 3d extendL through the holes 42 of the cen-k tered triangle, the post 32 will be correspondingly centered with respect to the seat S. As, will be evident, it is immaterial which bolt 34 passes Vthrough which hole s2, as long as the three bolts 34 pass` through the three desired holes, since the plate 33 may be disposed in any one of three diierent centered positions, andl also may be placed in any one ofY three different off-center positions. adjust the seat from ori-center to lofi-center position, and vice versa,

If desired, a sleeve bearing, socket bearing, or similar rotating joint may be provided, so that Y the seat may be rotated without changing its elevation. Thus, as in Fig. 8, a threaded post may engage interior threads of a vertical secrIhus, it is quite simple to tion 28 of a column whose lower end is adapted to be pivotally attached to the base of the chair. The upper end of post 45 is provided with a socket 45, in which a vertical pin 41 is journalled, the upper end of pin 41 being attached to seat plate t3. To retain the pin lll in. the socket s, any suitable retaining device permitn ting separation oi the seat and post when desired may be utilized. The remaining parts of seat S' oi Fig. 8 may be similar to those of seat S oi Fig. 6, except that the seat S may be provided with a tapered or wedge-shaped cushion, such as formed by cushion material 40 and a cover 39 therefor, the seat S thus being higher ad jacent one edge than the other, so that the user may merely lean against the seat, if desired,

rather than sit completely on it.

As in Figs. 9 and 10, a ball and socket joint may be provided, such as including a ball 5B mounted on the lower end of a post 5i, whose upper end is attached to seat plate 33. Ball 5B is clamped between socket halves 52 and 53, socket half 53 being provided, if desired, with a slot 5d to perrnit the seat to be tipped down wardly, as to the position of Fig. l0, so that it will be more nearly out of the way when not in use. Also-, the seat S may be tipped to an intermediate position, so as toprovide a slanting top surface when so desired by the user. To provide height adjustment, the lower end of a post 55 may threadedly engage the threaded sleeve 29 in the upper end of the vertical section 28 of the column, such as column O as shown in Fig. l. The upper end of post 55 may also be provided with an upstanding flange 5t, such as generally rectangular in cross section, through which a bolt 51 may extend for attaching the socket halves 52 and 53 to flange 56, and also to permit adjustment of the pressure of the socket halves 52 and 53 on the ball 5e. Bolt 5'! may be provided with a wing nut, as shown, for readier adjustability, while a look nut 58 may be provided for locking the post 55 in adjusted position in the threaded sleeve 29.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the auxiliary seat of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. A particular advantage of the auxiliary seat of this invention is that it may be moved from one position toy another or out of the way, merely by being pushed with the knee or some other portion of the body of the user. The rhombic plate 33, having holes forining two equilateral triangles, coupled with the attachment oi post 32 to plate 33 at the center of one triangle and the seat attaching bo-lts 34, spaced at each apex of a similar equilateral tri angle, provide an extremely convenient means for adjusting the position of the seat from oncenter to oiecenter. An advantage of this adjustrnent means lies in the fact that, if wing nuts 35 on bolts 3d become loose, or even drop oif entirely, the seat S will remain in the centered or olf-center position. The provision of a bearing having a closed lower end, which prevents the spilling of oil or grease onto the oor, is also of value, this value being enhanced by the bear ing grooves which not only produce more continuous lubrication but also permit the post I8 to be quickly inserted in the bearing, by relieving air pressure. IThus, the auxiliary seat may be removed from its bearing readily, without the necessity of disconnecting bolts, screws, plates, levers or the like, and also may be just as readily replaced in position for use. A post which exan additional valuable feature.

While one embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be understood that various changes may be made therein. For instance, the right angle post lll may be attached to the column O, and an adjustable connection between the upper end of the column 0 and the seat S, may be provided in a manner other than illustrated or described. The plate 33 may have a shape other than rhombic, although the latter is preferred because of the saving in material in stamping or cutting a plurality of such plates from sheet metal or strip. Different sizes, as well as various constructions of seat S, may be utilized. The auxiliary seat of this invention may also be utilized in conjunction with other types of chairs, such as dentists or doctors chairs or examination tables, and may be mounted on a pedestal, supporting post or even a special support. Changes other than those indicated or suggested may be made, as will be evident to those skilled in the art.

It will also be understood that other embodiments of this invention may exist, and various changes made therein, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. An auxiliary seat for barber chairs and the like, comprising a clamp for attachment to a base or other portion of said barber chair or the like; a cylindrical, open top bearing mounted on said clamp, saidbearing having a generally vertical axis, a closed lower end, and interior, spirally and upwardly extending grooves; a generally tubular column having a horizontal section and a vertical section at the outer e-nd thereof, said vertical section having a threaded socket at its upper end and said horizontal section. having at its inner end a cylindrical post extending downe wardly at right angles thereto and received in said open top bearing; a threaded post received in said threaded socket and having at its upper end a plate attached at right angles thereto, said plate having a rhornbic shape and a hole at each corner, said holes forming two eduilateral triangles and said post being attached to said plate centrally of one triangle; and a circular seat having on the top a cushion and on the underside three extending bolts disposed at the apices of an equilateral triangle centered with respect to said seat and corresponding to the triangle formed by three of said plate holes, so that said plate is attachable to said seat in a centered position with said bolts extending through the plate holes centered with respect to said post, and in an orf-center position with said bolts extending through the plate holes off-center with respect to said post.

2. An auxiliary seat for barber chairs and the like, comprising a support attachable to said f chair; a seat mounted on said support in spaced position with respect to said chair; and rneans for mounting said seat on said support including a post, a plate attached to the upper end of said post, and cooperating attachments between said seat and plate, the attachments of the plate bem ing disposed at the apices of two similar triangles, one of which is centered and the other off-center with respect to said post, and the attachments of said seat being disposed at the apices of a similar triangle.

3. In a seat andv a support therefor', a plate having four holes disposed to forni two equilateral triangles; a post attached to the underside of said plate at the center o one said triangle; and a circular seat having on the underside three downwardly extending bolts disposed at the apioes of a corresponding equilateral triangle and positioned in three of said plate holes.

4. In a seat and support therefor, as defined in claim 3, wherein said plate is rhombic in shape and said holes are disposed adjacent the corners thereof.

5. An auxiliary seat for barber chairs and the like, comprising a Clamp for attachment to a base or other portion of said barber chair or the like; a cylindrical bearing mounted on said clamp and having a generally vertical axis, said bearing having a closed lower end and upwardly extending interior grooves; a column having a generally horizontal section and a generally vertical section extending upwardly at substantially right angles thereto, said generally horizontal section having at the inner end a generally vertical and downwardly extending post received in said bearing; and a seat mounted on the top of said vertical column section, said seat and column being removable as a unit from said bearing.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 336,220 Farrar Feb. 16, 1886 689,964 Hieber Dec. 31, 1901 1,322,551 Efaw Nov. 25, 1919 1,352,409 Hoefener Sept. 7, 1920 1,566,161 Moore Dec. 15, 1925 1,823,437 Cooper Sept. 15, 1931 2,212,777 Jones Aug. 27, 1940 2,252,137 Rumniereld Aug. 12, 1941 2,446,376 Littlejohn Aug. 3, 1948 2,449,385 Johnson Sept. 14, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,121 Great Britain 1894 

